LTER Data Managers Meeting - 7/27/95 A. Introductions 1. around the table B. Logistics 1. may be able to pick up some of hotel rooms etc. 2. breakfast and dinner on your own C. Agenda 1. Scott Collins won't be able to make it early on... 2. Clarence won't be able to come from CDR - progress report on data publication 3. additional topics? bring them up next morning D. Site Bytes 1. MCM a) outrageously busy b) things changing! c) resources for data and information management 1) 2 assistants d) will free up some time e) went to field site - hard in antarctic 1) very valuable f) 8 student volunteers 1) 2 paid to work on DM g) new technical equipment 1) incoming soon 2) MCM currently no Internet presence a> due to lack of resources h) have been focusing on bringing in data 1) submittals 2) requests 3) about 50 documented i) GIS in Taylor valley 1) help from ESRI 2) lots of demos lately j) Data and Information managment publications and presentations 1) most gray literature 2) 2 workshops 3) 4 journal articles a> GIS b> met data k) NSF Proposal 1) funded in part 2. NET a) additions - space, support system 1) space was desperately needed 2) new large room for equipment and group activities b) NASA collaboration 1) sun photometer a> data every 15 minutes, with hourly readouts b> database about 1 GB c> mirrored at LTERNET 2) additional LANDSAT imagery will be acquired 3) will be keeping online rather than near-online c) SPRINTNET connection -> 1-800 -> so popular it exceeded allocated funds 1) now must be done at site level 2) get billed for own access d) Personnel with email continues to grow e) Field Connectivity Kit 1) will be tested in Budapest 2) Voyager SparcStation a> serial interface b> ethernet 3) will be useful for remote sites f) shift in emphasis on higher-level applications 1) middleware products tested 2) appear that they will be very useful building blocks g) ILTER 1) international collaboration 2) March - 2 week training course for Chinese, Taiwan, Malasia a> training on network techniques b> set up primative information servers 3) regional conference on LTER - Pacific a> workshop arranged 1> 21 scientists participated 2> strong interest to exchange ideas at technical level 3. SEV a) started second funding cycle b) major new science 1) modeling actual evapotranspiration a> new post doc b> remote sensing/GIS c) added new workstations with videoconferencing - SHOWME 1) seems to work well with some quirks a> broadcast to all suns in building by mistake! 2) upgrading to Solaris d) WWW - continuing 1) Sandia Labs funding queriable data a> focusing on met data right now b> lots under construction c> SYBASE SQL to be added in September 1> looking forward to more in HTML/SQL interfaces 2) general info 3) faunal treatment 4) using for proposal support a> with new page constraints at NSF put URLs on proposals e) recent proposals dealing with parasites will interface with database 1) also PEAT proposal - taxonomy support f) Parmenter and Brunt - field station grant funded 1) increase GIS 2) complete networking a> new SUN server b> graphic workstations g) Cross site proposal to extend exclosure work 1) also provides for mobile satellite communications system 2) needed due to remote location 4. CPR a) data management committee formed locally for review 1) extensive revision 2) new guidelines for putting data in public domain b) new data manager - Mark Easter 1) will be 1/2 time 2) also project management c) WWW page started d) revised bibliography and software 1) see handout 2) locally developed, with Motif interface e) revised data access programs - LTERMENU 1) delimited files 2) IEEE binarys 3) external filters for display of data supported 4) metadata format a> see handout 5. CWT a) WWW 1) used as front-end for database 2) greater PI participation b) new SPARC 1000 1) moving to Solaris, slowly.... 2) some disk crashes c) more microclimate data 1) several new stations 2) LOTS of data - 10MB per year per site d) two new workstations 1) more seats e) want to talk about connectivity - 1800 f) 28.8KB connection via long distance call g) pile of biodiversity lists to be put online for workshop 1) have consolidated lists h) GIS 1) human and non human disturbance 2) back 6K years 3) new layers! a> agricultural usage b> wind damage 4) setting up atlas on WWW i) satellite images 1) base vegetation map created j) want information on how LTER Data Management will be reviewed 1) will be discussed further at meeting 6. NTL a) augmentation proposal 1) rapid expansion 2) 4 more lakes added a> new gradient to look at things on 3) regionalization a> exerimental lakes area 4) social scientists 5) 2 new post-docs 6) new part-time data management b) Fall 1994 - public WWW page 1) expanding this summer 2) proposals and figures 3) personnel 4) bibliography 5) now have own web at field station c) moving database off central campus computer - INGRES to ORACLE on SUN 1) taken quite a bit of work 2) mostly done 3) chose to go with Oracle - powerful built in query facility for linking datasets 4) PIs and graduate students are using front-end query tools a> held 2 training workshops 5) also looking at other types of front-ends (e.g., Excell) d) new 56KBS line to field station 1) dedicated line 2) can access both local and remote NOVELL servers 3) has changed many ways of things done e) Biodiversity information 1) wanted two levels of information a> what we were monitoring b> biodiversity of study area 2) was fairly easy to get the first type, the second was more involved - would require literature search etc. 7. AND a) Stafford - nice to be back from NSF -- look at where NSF can fit into your career 1) keep eyes open for opportunities b) looking at increasing core support from non LTER 1) hiring UNIX system administrator 2) working on SHOWME and Solaris c) Site Byte so good, sent it twice d) working on WWW page 1) can automatically generate HTML for datasets 2) had two server crashes that wiped out some stuff a> just as tape backup died e) renewal proposal this winter 1) data assessment initiative a> are we collecting right data b> links to models c> spatial and non-spatial data d> really important to pull together peoples direction e> PIs are doing - not starting at DM level.... 2) meteorological a> reviewed and reevaluated what we needed b> eliminated some old sites c> added two major stations d> telemetry equipment f) connection to Andrews site almost in place - 56KB line g) biodiversity 1) lots of lists have surfaced 2) some are online 3) NBS and NPS have created FoxPro program for accessing park lists a> useful for design of own database h) databases - Foxpro 1) want better Internet access 2) looking at SQL running on Windows NT 3) Forest Service moving to new computer system a> includes Oracle license - free! 4) at key point 8. BNZ a) NSF site review went smoothly from DM point of view b) online forms 1) uses Netscape - form support across all platforms c) improved networking 1) easier to get stuff from them 2) peer-pressure d) planning system upgrade to Solaris but had to put off due to software and hardware incompatibility e) some hacker problems - security a hot issue 1) have fine tuned some things 2) TCP wrappers 3) Solaris more secure f) WWW and distributed computing g) worked with Rudolf on middleware project 9. NET- satellite office a) part time LTER and Information Center for the Environment (ICE) 1) online data access 2) moving from ARC/INFO and Foxpro to WWW access 3) interim solution - under Windows NT 4) used Foxpro to write out reports that are HTML documents b) HTML forms interface to ARC/INFO 1) just about done 2) will return both tabular data and map c) ARCVIEW2 can be linked to WWW server for X-compatible terminals 10. NWT a) added ethernet to field headquarters b) running power to field headquarters and remote study site 1) moving from solar and wind c) WWW server 1) almost anything you want to know about the site d) unusually heavy snow - lots of flooding e) field season even shorter this year f) complete turnover of data management lab 1) Mike Hartman 2) losing staff due to marketable skills 3) very stressful! g) site review was very positive 1) held up as model system 2) grabbed bits and pieces from other LTER systems 3) lots of questions on LTER Network as whole 4) tech supplements had been very important a> need to find some way to keep parity h) training of graduate students very important 1) 5 PhD graduates this summer off of LTER 11. KNZ a) we are at junction - gravy days are over - need to find new ways of funding 1) need to continue moving up 2) need to find ways to build on what we have 3) amazed at how successful we have been - large outreach program a> seen as leaders in field b> but need to get more out into the literature 4) DM is vulnerable to cuts if it does not produce 5) pushing envelope on science 12. LUQ a) LTER II - end of first year b) Remote sensing 1) documentation forms c) new biodiversity projects 1) coordinated data management early! d) still Data Management, not Information Management e) upgraded server and workstations f) new data entry person trained g) continuing effort to document and catalog datasets 1) want to incorporate minimum standard items 2) USGS and NOAA data h) pushing more investigators to put data online i) WWW development continues j) El Verde site master plan being formulated 1) working on hiring people k) Terrestrial Ecology Division -> Institute of Terrestrial Ecology at UPR 1) don't know how to place DM l) trying to revise bibliography m) working on plant species list 1) so far in Pardox 2) moving online 13. PAL a) all mention funding cycle! may track where we are in funding cycle 1) we are at end of first funding cycle 2) emphasis on publication and synthesis a> dynamic time b> WWW page set up for site review - demos online primarily b) exciting time - third cruise (now can look at time series) 1) extra cruise did give us seasonal view c) working on making WWW page more general d) requests have changed what is online and where it is stored e) synthesis volume out soon f) automatic weather station facilitated quality checking - replicates added value to on-station measurements 1) have proved to be very valuable 2) high quality g) more coordination now, logistics h) cross-platform computer committee 1) helps smooth path for data across systems i) more emphasis on display of data in field 1) quality control j) link to GIS 1) working from low end 2) using for visualization k) increasing amount of time updating online documentation 1) logs 2) sampling maps 3) calendars 4) would like to have more procedure manuals in place l) monthly electronic agenda sent out 1) meetings 2) publications 3) helps in keeping bibliographic things updated m) plans for next season 14. VCR a) continued development of WWW system as a research resource that goes beyond traditional data 1) development of forms for basic project management a> calendar b> project descriptions c> REU 2) theses and dissertations 3) research reports 4) some expansion of online data b) Northampton GIS 1) hypertext metadata a> FGDC standards c) participation in ILTER visit to Panama and Costa Rica 1) hierarchy a> connectivity b> content c> organization d> synthesis d) participation in site review of Arctic sites e) ITEX participation f) future 1) put more data online! 2) develop online form system for data management a> link to underlying relational database 3) improve query and searching capabilities 4) linking site via commercial SLIP/PPP server E. HBR 1. dedication cerimony to rename lab a) new conference room and dorms 1) no more meetings in hot, stuffy barn! 2) 160 people at meeting 2. archiving physical samples a) now have some back to 1962 b) expanding efforts 3. sample collection a) 9 time subsampling b) focuses on documentation of previous samples c) resampling site and comparison with past samples d) reruning some old samples to test for old analytical errors 4. sample datasets archived a) EDEX 1) have been on EcoGopher at Yale 2) now have 40 public EDEXes, 6.5 MB b) several scientists have volunteered more data 5. Hubbard Brook Publication list a) more than 1300 citations 6. Location database in GIS a) will aid advisory committee 1) requests for new studies 2) some sites need to be off limits b) also look at research history of sites F. HFR 1. position changed from 50-50 split DM:research - now 100% data management! a) first time dedicated data manager b) Emory Boose also 1/2 time on DM 2. WWW page established on LTERNET a) still rudimentary, but some data is there 1) climate data 2) species lists b) want to view as information system c) links to other information servers 3. in first year of new grant cycle a) new collaborators 1) archeology 2) paleoecology 3) social sciences b) new research focus in forest ecology 1) insects as disturbance agents 2) hemlock c) biodiversity 1) species lists for birds and plants 4. constant use of 1-800 number - now have own 800 numbers a) very close to be fully connected to Harvard University b) 40 PCs hooked up c) router due in early August d) will also include email accounts on Cambridge systems 5. major feature - archives back to 1907 a) paper - original data sheets b) working on getting into machine readable forms c) rigid archives usage policy 1) had problems with attrition 2) new facilities for on site use d) planning stages for new archival facility G. CDR 1. split between Clarence Leyman 2. exciting paper on complexity vs diversity a) reconciles Connell and May b) both were right 3. turnovers a) now all Solaris b) new research director 1) post-doc - John Knox 2) oversees fieldwork and data management 4. second year of most recent grant cycle 5. emphasis on biodiversity a) new experiments started well 6. field site connection in the works 7. simulations of habitat distruction and effects of competition on SPARC 8. online laboratory notebooks very useful a) simulations b) statistical analyses c) experimental designs 9. hired 2 undergraduates to assist in computer work! a) helps with detail-work 10. WWW page - in progress, not up yet! H. JRN 1. first year of 3rd funding 2. networked within office, but not out the door yet! 3. dryest year on record a) PP measurements are quick! 4. USDA attempt to rescue old dataset back to 1915 - pantographs of plots a) working on GIS b) computer visualization of reconstructed landscapes 5. featured in Discover Magazine in February I. KBS 1. WWW a) basic info b) investigators 2. quality control 3. making data available to public 4. current projects a) plant species list b) networking co-PIs 5. had first URL citation in Ecology J. Comment from Hayden 1. thanks for help on developing table profiling LTER 2. around 1400 people involved in LTER in various aspects 3. develop site profile on information systems - with synergisms a) useful to NSF for defending LTER in hostile funding environment b) what leverages do you get out of it K. Comment from John Vande Castle 1. NET office proposal being put together by Executive Committee 2. need to inform them of Data Management needs a) meetings b) network-wide software etc. L. General comments 1. DM is real glue for network a) mix of defense of site and defense of DM 2. will need graph that shows net office as test bed a) expansion of capabilities - timeline b) e.g. 1) GIS 2) Home Page 3. Theme of meeting is information management a) at fork in road b) what will be supported, and where c) what does it need to be like? 1) vision statement is first step